Every mother’s nightmare is waiting and waiting endlessly for her child to come home.

The full text of Rachel Frankel’s statements at the United Nations Human Rights Council:

My name is Rachel Frankel, and I live in Israel. I’ve come here today as a mother. Twelve days ago, my son Naftali, and two other teenage students, Eyal Yifrah and Gilad Shaer – whose mothers are sitting behind me – were kidnapped on their way home from school. Since then, we’ve heard nothing – no news, no sign of life.

With your permission, I’d like to tell you about the boys. My son Naftali is 16. He loves to play guitar and basketball. He’s a good student and a good boy – a combination of serious and fun. Eyal loves to play sports and cook. Gilad is an amateur pastry chef, and loves movies.

My son texted me – said he’s on his way home – and then he’s gone. Every mother’s nightmare is waiting and waiting endlessly for her child to come home.

We wish to express our profound gratitude for the waves of prayers, support and positive energy, pouring in from around the world.

Being in this assembly, I wish to thank the UN Secretary-General for condemning the abduction of our boys, expressing his solidarity with the families, and calling for their immediate release.

And I thank the International Red Cross for stating clearly that international humanitarian law prohibits the taking of hostages, and for demanding the immediate and unconditional release of our boys.

At the same time, I believe much more can be done – and should be done – by so many. That is why we three mothers have come here today – before the United Nations, and before the world – to ask everyone, to do whatever they can, to bring back our boys.

Mr. President, it is wrong to take children, innocent boys or girls, and use them as instruments of any struggle. It is cruel. This council is charged with protecting human rights. I wish to ask: Doesn’t every child have the right to come home safely from school?

We just want them back in our homes, in their beds. We just want to hug them again. Thank you, Mr. President.

About the Author

The opinions expressed in the comment section are the personal views of the commenters. Comments are moderated, so please keep it civil.

Visitor Comments: 14

(13)
Katherine,
June 26, 2014 3:32 PM

Prayers and hopes are with you, keep strong, kids feel their mothers presents.

(12)
Manasseh,
June 26, 2014 12:03 AM

A Child Like My Child

When I think about my children I find myself praying that Hashem will find these children and give the parents solaceHASHEM hear our prayers

(11)
sharona,
June 25, 2014 8:10 PM

The UN doesn't' care. It would be nice if they did but they don't. All we have is each other and G-d. Stay strong, we are with you and G-d is with you

(10)
S. Rung-Laux,
June 25, 2014 3:41 PM

I hope, they´ll be back soon! This kidnapping is evil.

(9)
Rose McKinlay,
June 25, 2014 10:57 AM

A very testing time for the parents and Israel

I am a Christian from Australia. My church is praying for the boys release and for the families concerned. We are praying for a miracle.

(8)
Beverly Margolis-Kurtin,
June 25, 2014 3:41 AM

The world doesn't care

Let's face it, the world does not give a damn whether the boys are returned or not. The UN could care less about three Jewish boys, all they care about are the lies about how Israel maltreats Arabs.I feel as though my heart has been ripped out and stomped on.I pray for their safe return.

(7)
Rachel,
June 24, 2014 6:00 PM

What was the reaction?

After Mrs. Fraenkel made her comments was their a reaction or comments from the committee ? Hashem should send our boys home today

(6)
Anonymous,
June 24, 2014 5:45 PM

My prayers are for the safe release of the 3 kidnapped boys.

I pray for the kidnapped boys' safe release by the kidnappers. What a terrible thing to do. And let the kidnappers realize the results will be devastating to those who commiitted this act and to those who support it. The Israelis will be justified in attacking and destroying the kidnappers and their supporters.

stewart

(5)
Victoria Bingham,
June 24, 2014 4:35 PM

We sre standing with you in prayer

Dear Mrs. Frankel, My family is praying and petitioning God for the safe release of these young men; your sons. We are praying that our president opens his eyes and his heart and sees fit to make demands of the captors. It is the only right thing to do. God sees everything; and is the judge of the whole earth. God help them.

(4)
Diane,
June 24, 2014 3:50 PM

It is is strange that public figures are so silent

As a mother and grandmother (son and family living in Tel Aviv), I can understand the pain you all must be feeling. I applaud your courage for speaking out in the UN. It is sad that this US President is so silent on this topic, unlike when the Nigerian girls were kidnapped. It is a travesty. Children are innocents and not political pawns. Everyday, I pray and say Tehillim for your sons' safe return home you and their families. I want you to know that we stand by you, feel your pain, and are doing what we can to get the word out. Msy Hashem bring your sons, our boys, home safe and sound.

(3)
Anonymous,
June 24, 2014 2:55 PM

wow! beautiful words

May Hashem give you menuchas hanefesh (peace of mind) and to all of klal yisroel (the Jewish Nation) as well. We are all together AS ONE FAMILY. we will continue to daven (pray) as long as it takes , may moshiach come as quickly as possible.

(2)
vera gara,
June 24, 2014 2:37 PM

I hope and pray that the boys will return safely Enough is enough

(1)
Joan Michel,
June 24, 2014 2:21 PM

The Silence Roars

where's the world? where's our president? GET THE BOYS BACK!

Lisa,
June 25, 2014 2:09 AM

Why wonder about Poole who truly don't care...

Our president does not care.....silence is acquiescence !! Let the nation of Israel handle this, as only they can!! Am Yisrael Chai !!

I was born with a neuromuscular disease known as Spinal Muscular Atrophy and have been confined to a wheelchair my entire life. Unfortunately my sister and I were raised without any religious instruction or guidance. My father wasn't Jewish and although my mother is, she openly claims to be an atheist. The "good news" is that both my sister and myself - independent of each other and at different times in our lives - realized that we are Jewish and chose to live a Jewish life.

Because of my disability, I'm not always able to attend services on Shabbat, but I always light candles, pray from a Siddur and read the weekly Torah portion. I would like to know whether, considering my situation, if using a computer is allowed during the Sabbath? I found the complete Bible online and since my computer is voice-activated I don't have to struggle to turn pages or continuously ask for assistance.

Thank you to everyone at Aish.com for making it possible for myself and so many others to learn about being Jewish and grow in the most important part of our lives.

The Aish Rabbi Replies:

Thank you so much for your encouraging words and for sharing your inspiring story.

God gives each of us a set of challenges. To those more capable of conquering difficulties, He gave bigger challenges. A challenge from God is a sign that He cares about us and has confidence in our ability to become great.

It sounds like you're doing great!

As for using the computer on Shabbat, that is prohibited. A foundation of Judaism is that we need to respect God's wishes, even if we think that doing otherwise is "for a good reason." Consider this story:

A king calls in his trusted minister and says: "I have an important mission for you to perform. Go to the neighboring kingdom and meet in the palace with their leaders. But remember one thing - under no circumstances must you remove your shirt during this meeting. Now go and do as I say."

The minister sets off on his merry way and soon arrives at the neighboring kingdom. There he heads straight for the palace where he meets with the King. In the midst of their discussion, he sees some of the king's officers pointing and laughing at him.

"Why are you laughing?" asks the visiting minister.

"Because we've never seen someone with such a pronounced hunchback as yourself," they say.

"What are you talking about? I'm not a hunchback!"

"Of course you are!"

"No I'm not!"

"We'll bet you one million dollars that you are!"

"Fine - I'll gladly take your bet."

"Okay, so take off your shirt and prove it."

At which point the minister remembers the parting words of the king... "under no circumstances must you remove your shirt during the meeting." Yet, the minister reasons, a million dollars would certainly bring added wealth to the king's coffers. I know I'm not a hunchback, so I'll surely win the bet. Of course, under these circumstances the king would approve...

The minister removes his shirt and proudly displays his perfect posture. With pride in his achievement, he holds out his hand, into which is placed a check for one million dollars.

The minister can barely contain his excitement. He quickly ends the meeting and runs back to give the wonderful news to his king. "I earned you a million dollars!" exclaims the minister. "It was easy. I only had to remove my shirt to prove that I wasn't a hunchback."

"You did what?!" shouts the king. "But I told you specifically not to remove your shirt. I trusted that you'd follow instructions, and so I bet the other king $10 million dollars that he couldn't get you to remove your shirt!"

The Torah tells us "Do not add or subtract from the mitzvahs." (Deut. 4:2) Jewish law is a precise metaphysical science. Consider a great work of art. Would you consider adding a few notes to a Bach fugue, or some brushstrokes to a Rembrandt portrait?!

Perfection, by definition, cannot be improved upon. Altering Torah law is an unacceptable implication that God is lacking.

The verse in Psalms 19:8 declares: "Torat Hashem Temimah" - the Torah of God is complete. For just as adding one wire to a transistor radio means it no longer can pick up reception, so too we mustn't tinker with Jewish law. The mitzvahs of God are perfect.

May the Almighty give you strength to continue your growth in Judaism.

In 1315, King Louis X of France called back the Jews who had been expelled a few decades earlier by King Louis IX. This marked a theme in Jewish-French life: expulsions and subsequent invitations to return. The French monarchy was trying to establish their land as the "new Jerusalem," and to fulfill this mission attempted several crusades to Israel. In 1615, King Louis XIII ordered that Christians were forbidden to speak with Jews, upon penalty of death. Eventually, in 1683, King Louis XIV expelled the Jews from the colony of Martinique.

Focus on what you do want. Make your goal explicit. “My goal is to increase my moments of joy.” This way, every single moment of joy is a successful moment.

Celebrate each moment of joy. Be grateful every time you experience joy.

Having this goal will place your attention on joy. Instead of feeling bad when you are not joyful, you will experience positive feelings about experiencing more joy.

Each moment of joy in your entire life is experienced one moment at a time. You can’t have more than one moment of joy in any given moment, but you can increase the number of joyful moments. How? By focusing on it.

There is no person on earth so righteous, who does only good and does not sin (Ecclesiastes 7:20).

Reading the suggestions for ridding oneself of character defects, someone might say, "These are all very helpful for someone who has character defects, but I do not see anything about myself that is defective."

In the above-cited verse, Solomon states what we should all know: no one is perfect. People who cannot easily find imperfections within themselves must have a perception so grossly distorted that they may not even be aware of major defects. By analogy, if a person cannot hear anything, it is not that the whole world has become absolutely silent, but that he or she has lost all sense of hearing and may thus not be able to hear even the loudest thunder.

In his monumental work, Duties of the Heart, Rabbeinu Bachaye quotes a wise man who told his disciples, "If you do not find defects within yourself, I am afraid you have the greatest defect of all: vanity." In other words, people who see everything from an "I am great/right" perspective will of course believe that they do no wrong.

When people can see no faults in themselves, it is generally because they feel so inadequate that the awareness of any personal defects would be devastating. Ironically, vanity is a defense against low self-esteem. If we accept ourselves as fallible human beings and also have a sense of self-worth, we can become even better than we are.

Today I shall...

be aware that if I do not find things within myself to correct, it may be because I am threatened by such discoveries.

With stories and insights,
Rabbi Twerski's new book Twerski on Machzor makes Rosh Hashanah prayers more meaningful. Click here to order...